Bed-motion for bed-and-cylinder printing-machines.



No. 678,476. Patented luly I6, |90I. L. C. CRDWELL. BED MDTIDN FDR BEDAND CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINES.

(Application led Apr. 28, 189B.) (No Iodel.) 3 Sheets-Shoot 4.

"n: malus man: ca. momlmo.. wAsnmGToN, ov c.

' Patented lllly I6, I90I. L. C. CRUWELL. BED IIDTION FDR BED ANDCYLINDER PRINTING MACHINES.

(Application led Apr. 28, 189B.)

3 Sheath-Sheet 2.

(N0 Nudel.)

nu: nom-us PlzTEns du. PNoToLn'uo.. wAsuwaToN. n, c.

No. 678,476. P t t du] I I6 90|.

L. c. cnowl-:LLi a e" e u y I sin normn Fon Ben Ann cvLmuEnwnmTlnenAcHlNEs.

(Application led Apr. 28, 189B.)

(nu model.) 3 sheefQ-snef 3.

nu colma Puces movaumo, wAsHmcfon. n c.

UNITED STATES "PATENT EEICE.

LUTHER C. CROWELL, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSICNOR, RY .DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, To ROBERT HOE AND CHARLES w. CARPENTER, OE SAME PLACE,(COPARTNERS UNDER THE FIRM-NAME OE R. HOE

AND COMPANY.)

BED-MOTION FOR BED-AND-GYLINDER PRiNTlNG-MACHINES.

Application filed April 2 8, l 8 9 8.

To aZZtl/wm, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, LUTHER C. CROWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York,county of Kings,a'nd State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-Motions forBed-and-Cyl'- inder Printing-Machines, fully described and representedin the following specification and the accompanying'drawings, forming apart of the same.

This invention relates to certain improvements in bed-motions forbed-and-cylinder printing-machines. The reciprocation of the heavy bedswhich are used in this class of machines presents very considerabledifficulties, since the beds must be driven at high speeds to enable themachines to have the desired capacity of production. ,The speed of thesemachines is, on the other hand, limited by reason of the fact that thebed must be slowed down and reversed at each end of its stroke, and thismust be done in such a Way as to avoid excessive shock and strain,whichwould produce great wear and tear upon the Working parts. Furthermore,in bed-and-cylinder machines itis of particular importance in order tosecure registry and a'good impression that the cylinder and bed move inexact synchronism during the time, the printing is effected, and in thatclass of bed-and-cylinder machines in which a constantly-revolvingcylinder is used in connection With the reciprocating bed, the cylinderbeing driven vin synchronism with the bed during the printing stroke andthe bed being caused to return independently of the cylinder during thenon-printing stroke, it is usual to insure the synchronous movement ofthe cylinder and bed bya rack-and-pinion connection during that part ofthe printing stroke in which the printing is done, the cylinder beingheld out of engagement with the -bed and independently driven during thereturn or nonprinting stroke., It has been found in this class ofmachines that crank "mechanism is better adapted for driving the bedthan many other devices which have been tried; but such mechanisms havethe disadvantage, however, that the movement given thereby is not atSPECIFICATION forming-part of letters Patent No. 678,476, ated July 1c,190i.

Serial No. 679,088. (No model.)

any time constant. It is considered desirable in the highest class ofprinting to have the movement of the printing-couple during the printingoperation constant and steady, on' the ground that better results areproduced by such a movement than by a movement which firstconstantlyincreases and then constantly decreases. Such a constant andsteady movement cannot of course be attained by the use of the ordinarycrank mechanism.

Another disadvantage of the crank-movement in its present form asapplied to machines employing a constantly-revolving cylinder is theloss of ltime incident to the return ofthe bed. It ofcourse requires asmuch time to return the bed during its non-printing stroke by theordinary crank-movement as it does to cause it to effect itsprintingstroke, and since the cylinder is out of print ing contact withthe bed during the entire return of the bed all the time consumed inthis operation is Wasted.

The object of this invention is to produce a crank-movement which shallavoid the disadvantages hereinabove stated and which when used inbed-and-cylinder printing-machines ofthe type referred to shall give thebed a constant and even` movement during thetime when the printing isdone, thereby producing a machine vadapted for the nest kinds ofprinting and at the same time shall operate to produce a quick return ofthe bed, thereby enabling the machine to be run at much higher speedsthan heretofore.

With this object in view myinvention consists in a certain constructionand in certain parts, improvements, and combinations thereof, which willbe described in the following specification, and the novel features ofwhich will be particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.Y

In the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of thisspecification, and in which like reference characters indicate the sameparts, Figure 1 represents a side view of a bed-and-cylinderprinting-machine of the two-revolution type embodying the improvedcrank-movement for operating the bed. Fig. 2 is a similar View showingthe parts in the relation which they occupy when the printing is aboutto begin. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing in full lines the positionoccupied by the parts at the end of the printing operation and in dottedlines the position of the parts at the end of the printing stroke of thebed. Fig. t is a similar View showing the parts in the position theyoccupy after the bed has been reversed and is on its return stroke. Fig.5 is an end view.

In the embodiment of myinvention shown in the drawings the frame of themachine is indicated by A. Rising from this frame are standards B, inwhich are mounted the sliding boxes C. The impression-cylinder D ismounted in the sliding boxes C, the movement of the boxes being effectedthrough the medium of a raising and lowering mechanism of ordinary typeconsisting of the rods I0, the toggle 11, connecting-rod 12, and rockinglever 13, carrying a bowl which engages a cam-groove in the face of acam-disk J. The reciprocation of the bed is produced by the ordinaryrailroad-gear F, meshing with the usual racks on the bed and frame. Thebed is provided with a rack 14, which engages with a rack 15 on thecylinder when the cylinder is in its lowermost position.

Mount-ed in suitable bearings in the frame is a stationary shaft or rodG, upon which is loosely mounted a crank-arm H. Also mounted in suitablebearings in the frame is a shaft I, upon which is mounted the largecrankwheel E. It will be observed that the shaft G and the shaft I areso positioned with relation to each other that the centers of revolutionof the large crank-wheel E and the looselymounted crank-arm H lie indifferent vertical planes and also in dierent horizontal planes. Inother words, these two centers of revolution are offset from each otherin two directions. The large crank-wheel E has mounted thereon acrank-stud K, and to this crankstud is connected a link L, the other endof which is connected to the loosely-mounted crank H, preferably at thepoint at which the crank is connected to the connecting-rod M, whichjoins the crank and the railroad-gear F. The crank-wheel E is providedwith gearteeth E and is driven by a pinion E, the beltpulley of which isshown in dotted lines in the several figures.

Journaled in suitable bearings in the bed is a shaft O, which has at oneend a pinion P, which engages the teeth of the crank-wheel E, and at itsother end another pinion 20. This pinion 2O meshes with an intermediate21, which in turn meshes with a pinion 22, which is constantly in meshwith a gear 23, which preferably forms a part of a clutch mechanism bywhich the impression-cylinder is connected to and driven by the train ofgearing before described during the time when it is not driven by thebed. This clutch mechanism is or may be similar to that disclosed inPatent No. 622,125, dated March 28, 1899, granted to me. inasmuch assaid clutch est/8,4%

mechanism forms no part of the present invention, a description of it isnot necessary; but reference is made to said patent for a fulldisclosure of the construction.

Referring to Fig. 1, in which the looselymounted crank-arm H is at thedead-center and the bed is consequently at the point of reverse, it willbe understood that the crankwheel E, which of course is constantlyrotating, will, through the medium of the link connection L, draw theloosely-mounted crankarm H around in a circular path, and the crank-armH Will, through the connectingrod M, cause al movement of therailroad-gear, and consequently of the bed. During the first part of themovement of this crank-arm it will be noticed that the arcs traveled bythe crank-stud K and the end of the looselymounted crank-arm H aresubstantially, though not exactly, parallel, and this parallelismcontinues practically until the parts reach the positions indicated inFig. 2. During this time, therefore, it will be seen that the bed has amovement substantially corresponding to that which would be given to itby the ordinary crank-movement-that is, a constantly-increasingmovement.

Considering the parts in the position shown in Fig. 2, at about whichtime the printing operation is to begin, it will be noticed that thecrank-stud K has passed the vertical line and the arc in whichit travelsis constantly drawing nearer to the arc which the end of the crank-arm His describing in its movement. The angle between the link L, whichconnects the crank-stud K and the looselymounted crank-arm H, and thecrank-arm is therefore at thistime constantly decreasing, or, in otherwords, the crank-stud K is in its forward travel constantly approachingthe center of rotation of the crank-arm H. The crank-arm H is not,therefore, receiving a movement equivalent to that which would be givenit if its center were coincident with that around which the crank-stud Kis revolving, but receives a movement which is the resultant of the twomovements which the stud has with relation to the center of rotation ofthe crank-arm. The effect of this will be to cause the crank-arm II tohave a practically constant movement. It may be here remarked thattheoretically the movement will not be q an exactly constant movement,but from a practical standpoint it is so nearly so that it may beconsidered for mechanical purposes as absolutely constant. It is at thistime that the printing-cylinder is moving in unison with the bed and theprinting is being done. This constant movement of the crank-arm Hcontinues until the parts have substantially reached the positionindicated in Fig. 3, at which time the printing operation has beencompleted. The cylinder' will now be raised by the raising and loweringdevices and the bed will pass toits point of reverse. The positions ofthe various parts with relation to each other at the point of reverseare indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. If now the dotted-line positionof the crank-stud K in Fig. 3 be compared with the full-line position ofthis stud in Fig. 1, it Will be noticed that this stud has traveled incarrying the looselylnounted crank through a half-revolution,andconsequently in giving the bed its reciprocation in one direction,considerably more than half the circumference. As the movement of thecrank-diskabout its own center is constant, it will be seen that thetime which the crank-disk will occupy in traveling from the dotted-lineposition shown in Fig. 3 to the full-line position shown in Fig. l, inwhich time and by which movement it will complete the secondhalf-revolution of the crank-arm H, and consequently effect the returnof the bed, will be considerably less than the time it occupies ingiving the crank-arm H its iirst half-revolution, since the distance tobe'traveled in giving the crank-arm H its rst halfrevolution is greaterthan the distance to be traveled to give it its second half-revolution.The result is, therefore, that the bed is given a quick return.

It will be noticed that the center of rotation of the crank-wheel E'notonly lies in a horizontal plane which is non-coincidentwith thehorizontal plane passing through the center of rotation of the crank H,but also lies in a vertical plane which is nearer the center of the bedthan the vertical plane passing through the center of rotation of theloosely-mounted crank. The center of the crankwheel E is thus positionedto give the bed its constant speed at the proper time-that is to say,when the cylinder comes in contacttherewith to effect the printingoperation. Vhile this crankmovement is shown as applied to abed-and-cylinder printing-machine, it is to be understood that its useis by no means limited to reciprocating the beds of such machines, butthat it is of general application and may be used Wherever it is desiredto give a bed during a portion of its reciprocation a practicallyconstant movement and to give it a quick return.

What is claimed isl. Inabed-movement,thecombination with a bed having arack, of a railroad-gear in mesh with the rack and operating to drivethebed, a loosely-mounted crank, a connecting-rod directly connected tothe axle of the gear and to the loosely-mounted crank, a second crankhaving its center offset from the first crank, means for driving thesecond crank, and connections between the two cranks, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a bed-movement,the combination with the bed, of a loosely-mountedcrank and connections therefrom to the bed, a second crank having itscenter located outside the vertical and horizontal planes which passthrough the center of rotation of the loosely-mounted crank, means fordriving the second crank, and connections between the two cranks,substantially as described.

3. In abed-movement,the combination with a bed having a rack, of arailroad-gear in mesh with the rack and operating to drive the bed, aloosely-mounted crank, a connecting-rod directly connected tothe axle ofthe gear and to the loosely-mounted crank, a second crank having itscenter located outside the vertical and horizontal planes which passthrough the center of rotation of the loosely-mounted crank, means fordriving the second crank, and connections between the two cranks,substantially as described.

4. In a bedmovement,the combination with the bed, of a loosely-mountedcrank, and connections therefrom to the bed, a second crank having itscenter lying in a vertical plane which is nearer the center of the bedthan the vertical plane passing through the center of rotation of theloosely-mounted crank, and in a horizontal plane which is non-coincidentwith the horizontal plane passing through the center of theloosely-mounted crank, means for driving the second crank, andconnections between the two cranks, substantially as described.

5. In a bedmovement,the combination with a bed having a rack, of arailroad-gear in mesh with the rack and operating to drive the bed, aloosely-mounted crank, a connecting-rod directly connected to the axleof the gear and to the loosely-mounted crank, a second crank havingV itscenter lying in a vertical plane which is nearer the center of the bedthan the vertical plane passing through the center of rotation of theloosely-mounted crank, and in a horizontal plane which is non-coincidentwith the horizontal plane passing through the center of the1oosely-mounted crank, means for driving the second crank, andconnections between the two cranks, substantially as described.

6. In a bed-movement-,the combination with a loosely-mounted crank, of aconnecting-rod between it and the bed, a second crank having its centerof rotation lying in vertical and horizontal planes which arenon-coincident with those passing through the center of rota-V tion ofthe loosely-mounted crank, a link connection between the two cranks, andmeans for driving the second crank, substantially as described.

7. In a bed-movement, the combination with a bed havingarack, ofarailroad-gear in mesh with the rack and operating to drive the bed,- aloosely-mounted crank, a connecting-rod directly connected to the axleof the gear and to the loosely-mounted crank, a second crank having itscenter of rotation lying in vertical and horizontal planes which arenon-coincident with those passing through the center of rotation of theloosely-mounted crank, a

link connection between the two cranks, and means for driving the secondcrank, substantially as described.

8. In a bedmovement,the combination with the shaft I having acrank-wheel E thereon, of the shaft Gr having a loosely mounted crank Hthereon, the centers of the two shafts IOS) being oifset from each otherin two directions,

a crank-stud K on the crank-wheel E, a link L connecting theloosely-mounted crank and the crank-stud, a connecting-rod M connected 5to the link L and the loosely-mounted crank,

a bed having a rack, a railroad-gear to the axle of which the link L isdirectly connected, and suitable driving mechanism for the crank-wheelE, substantially as described.

1o 9. In abedmovement,the combination with the shaft I having acrank-wheel E thereon,

of the shaft G having a looselymounted crank H thereon, the centers ofthe two shafts being oiset from each other in two directions,

I5 a crank-stud K on the crank-wheel E, a link L connecting theloosely-mounted crank and the crank-stud, a connecting-rod M connectedto the link L and the loosely-mounted crank, a railroad-gear operated bythe connectingrod M to reciprocate the bed, and suitable 2o drivingmechanism for the crank-wheel E, substantially as described.

In testimony whereot` I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses. I

LUTHER C. CROWELL.

Witnesses:

T. F. KEHOE, JAMES Q. RICE.

